Excellence in 60 Seconds
January 26, 2011
“Excellence in 60 Seconds” is the first installment of a new series here at NPOdev wherein the post will focus on a particular topic for 60 seconds.
This episode is an audio clip extracted from an interview with Louie Giglio from the Catalyst archives. Giglio is a Pastor and founder of the Passion Conferences and sixstepsrecords. He discusses what excellence is, how leadership should achieve it, and a formula to ensure it.
Excellence in 60 Seconds Audio Clip
Of Crowdsourcing, Knowledge Workers, and Crowd Accelerated Innovation Part 1
October 8, 2010
An Introduction to Crowd Accelerated Innovation
Seth Godin a well respected thought-leader and Chris Anderson, another well respected thought-leader that represents many of you as the face of TED, recently discussed “one of those big ideas, a simple one that will stick with you for a long time” (Godin, 2010). Seth presents this idea as “Online Video” (2010). Now, to many of you online video is nothing new. In fact, a plethora of non-profit organizations use video nearly everyday to tell their stories. The power and influence of video, especially delivered via the online medium, is hard to argue against. It is due to this non-argument that online video as a communication vehicle is not the topic of this discussion as it was for Seth Godin. Rather, let us discuss briefly the requirements of Crowd Accelerated Innovation, how a knowledge worker might fit into crowdsourcing, and how a nonprofit organization can leverage both.
Chris explains Crowd Accelerated Innovation as, creators and their resultant innovations that deliver to everyone else the message “step your game up” (Anderson, 2010)! While this may not be a physical conscious act, it is nonetheless compounding result of cycles of improvement and leaps in the evolution of an idea that raise the standard of excellence.
According to Anderson (2010) there are three elements that are needed in order to start turning the innovation wheel.
- A Crowd – a group of people whom share a common interest
Chris highlights that the bigger the crowd the more potential innovators, commentators, trend-spotters, cheerleaders, skeptics, super-spreaders, and mavericks that will exist. This group of people will form the fabric, the ecosystem from which innovation emerges.
- Light – clear, open visibility, of what the best people in that crowd are capable of
Chris believes that possessing the knowledge of how others are functioning will allow you to learn how you will be empowered to participate.
- Desire – absent of desire, innovation quite simply will not happen
Innovation is hard work. In most cases it is based upon hundreds of hours of research and practice. This is why it is critical that all members of the crowd be actively engaged within their role.
I encourage you to spend 18 minutes of your life and watch Chris’ presentation to get a better understanding of this form of innovation before reading Part 2 which will be posted in the coming week.
References
Anderson, C. (Presenter). (2010). Chris anderson: how web video powers global innovation. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_how_web_video_powers_global_innovation.html
Godin, S. (2010, September 16). Beyond crowdsourcing. Retrieved from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/beyond-crowdsourcing.html
Nonprofit Employee Empowerment
April 25, 2010
Source: Flickr, Lincolnian (Brian)
In a recent blog post by Marshall Goldsmith on the Harvard Business Review (HBR) website, Goldsmith discussed four steps leaders can take in order to empower their employees. Employee empowerment is nothing new. It is discussed in many circles and more often then not, empowerment is discussed alongside its antitheses, micro-management.
How many times do you as a non-profit leader encourage and allow empowerment? Is it difficult to do so because of employee or volunteer competency levels? Or are you as the leader stifling empowerment through your organization’s culture?
Marshall points out,
there is a critical point that is often missed: It isn’t possible for a leader to “empower” someone to be accountable and make good decisions. People have to empower themselves. Your role is to encourage and support the decision-making environment, and to give employees the tools and knowledge they need to make and act upon their own decisions. By doing this, you help your employees reach an empowered state.
I have learned that the issue with empowerment, micro-management, and employee competency is not with those items at all. It is almost always related to the culture surrounding the leader. The atmosphere the leader exudes. Therefore as leaders and managers, within non-profits or for-profits, we must ensure the organizational and departmental cultures we create are ones that allow employees to breathe. We must ensure our employees are allowed to make decisions on there own. AND…when the result of the decision is not the most favorable, we must stick by our employeesand encourage them, coach them, and mentor them so that the next opportunity they have to build confidence in themselves will be a success. Goldsmith clasifies this as “running interference”.
The greatest empowering force of empowerment is trust. Employees need to know that their leader has their back.
So what are the four steps Goldsmith suggested? Following are a few things leaders can do to build an environment that empowers people.
- Give power to those who have demonstrated the capacity to handle the responsibility.
- Create a favorable environment in which people are encouraged to grow their skills.
- Don’t second-guess others’ decisions and ideas unless it’s absolutely necessary. This only undermines their confidence and keeps them from sharing future ideas with you.
- Give people discretion and autonomy over their tasks and resources.
What then is step five?
Start today!
Start today by figuring out how you as the leader and you as the manager will set your staff up to succeed. This could be a full time employee, a volunteer, or even an intern. How will you empower them? How will you have their back? Which of Goldsmith’s four steps are you going to employ right now? What are you willing to relinquish control of in order that the other person can grow?
How will you inspire those you lead? Hopefully, it is by giving them the chance to prove they are up to the task.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 7 (Conclusion)
April 8, 2010
So… get out there and get people to know, like, and trust you. Ensure that this is done EPIC-ally.
If you already have a reserve – great! Implement this strategy and nurture the relationships you have at this time of hardship.
Just starting, or can’t figure out how the next bill will be paid? Then stop! Take the next few days to figure out what you can do to immediately have people experience, participate, be filled with images of your organization and its cause, and ultimately connect with you, your cause, and with like-minded people that support you. This will build a resource engine that is unstoppable due to vitality. This strategy will accomplish the non-profit’s mission because it is viable; and (rightfully so) will build a foundation of success through sustainability in order to accomplish the future vision…and to make it through those hardships that come our way.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 6 (Connective)
April 1, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need connectivity. If this is doubted, then look at Facebook, MySpace, Google’s introduction of Buzz, the explosion of dating sites, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Every major brand has communities surrounding its products and storefronts. Project management systems now integrate social components. Blogs themselves connect speakers and their audiences. Most modern churches use numerous aspects of technology and the web to connect the members of their congregations locally and as they travel on missions trips. There is Kiva.org which allows micro lenders to travel into the field to meet with other like-minded lenders whom have helped fund the same project. Even education’s transition to the online environment for courses as well as simply collaborating and sharing with other students that are on the other side of the globe; proves that people need connectivity.
People want to feel as though they are a part of what the organization is doing, and they want to see the results thereof. Connectivity transitions a person from merely liking the organization and its cause, to actually trusting it. With this new found trust through connectivity comes the inherent results of effective marketing, which have not yet been mentioned. After someone gets to know, like, and trust you; they will contact, repeat buy/support, and refer others. By providing avenues by which people may connect, on all levels and in all possible ways, with the organization; knowledge is gained, favor is given, loyalty is birthed out of trust, and the resource engine will begin to sustain itself as well as gather new fuel. It will even replace broken or missing parts through people who contact, repeat support, and now refer their friends and contacts to support your organization’s cause.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 5 (Image-Rich)
March 18, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need image-rich experiences and participation. They want to cultivate their like into trust, and ultimately into loyalty. One obvious aspect of imagery is visual. However, sight is merely one sensory receptor. Constituents need to feel, hear, smell, taste, and emotionally connect to the organization and its cause, and discover the culture surrounding it.
Consider a cup of Starbucks Coffee. With a cup of * bux, one is immersed in a rich image that involves the aroma, the flavor, the color, the warmth, the “buzz” of audible decadence that surrounds actually getting the liquid in the cup (just the way you ordered it), the connection that is made with the people that are enjoying the cup together or memories of such a time, and of course the culture that is Starbucks when actually placing the order (Sweet, 2007).
A person patronizing Starbucks does not simply “ask” for a small cup of coffee. They have to speak the language. The customer has to culturally understand that “their” cup of coffee is an “iced venti sugar-free vanilla soy decaf latte” (or for something more common, a “double short skinny extra-dry with legs”. Too complicated still? Ok…just a “grande breve”). Addressing the senses, including their emotional ties, solidifies a stakeholder’s notion to like the organization, and further perpetuates the trust factor.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
God in the Lead
March 4, 2010
Paraphrased excerpt from Bruchko, Chapters 4 and 6.
Many times as I studied I felt God nudging me. “I want you to go.”
“But, Lord, I tried that. Don’t You remember? I was turned down.”
“Turned down by whom?”
“Why, by the others, of course.”
It was as though God were smiling, amused and tolerant. God said, “I didn’t turn you down. I want you to go. Follow me!”
“God this is ridiculous. How can I go without a governing ordinance? You want me to go down there without anyone to take care of me? I mean–protocol and all?”
“I am there. What more do you need.”
I then began to see what God was trying to teach. He hadn’t called me, really, to follow in the exact footsteps of others. He had called me to Himself, to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. And He wanted me to follow Him. Now.
[Several weeks passed] At last I could comprehend a little of what God was trying to teach me. So what if everyone else had rejected me! So what if the people I had counted on most didn’t act the way I thought they should. Jesus had not rejected me. He had led me to here. It was His plan I was following, and He would use every [emphasis added] experience for my good.
Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse of the Bible one often hears. But do we really HEAR it? Do we really hear Him? “I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” (Peterson, 2003) There are numerous examples within the Bible where God has asked His leaders to do incomprehensible things. Abraham with his son Isaac, Moses with the people of Israel, David and Goliath, and there are many other instances with His disciples wherein God miraculously, simply provides.
What is God telling you and your organization to do? Is He telling you to go? Is He telling you to not be afraid of going against the flow, to swim upstream when everyone else is swimming downstream?
What purpose does God have for you and your organization? Is it changing? Does the mission seem too big, is the vision out of this world? Then behold, stand-fast, yet go! God has the plan all worked out. While yes, there is wisdom in adhering to the counsel and authority of others, but as Bruce Olson learned, when God calls, we must simply obey no matter what human elements get in the way.
As you lead the organization God has entrusted to you, as you lead the people He has given to help you, as God navigates you; remember to simply go. God has not turned you down! Go forward, go in peace, go in obedience, and go because God is smiling, amused, tolerant, and loving. “Come and follow Me!”, declares the LORD.
Do this and your organization will succeed because God is in the lead.
References:
Olson, Bruce. (2006). Bruchko: the astonishing true story of a 19-year-old american, his capture by the motilone indians and his adventures in christianizing the stone age tribe. Lake Mary, Florida, USA: Charisma House, A Strang Company.
Peterson, Eugene. (2003). The Message remix. NavPress Publishing Group.
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardships in NPOs Part 4 (Participatory)
February 22, 2010
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
People become supporters of non-profits when the organization approaches them EPIC-ally.
Experiential
Participatory
Image-Rich
Connective
People need to participate in the organization. They want to like what the entity is doing. What better way to know if you like something than to try it on for size? Invite people to volunteer their time, to take an acquaintance course, to visit the site or field in which the outreach is occurring, to physically see in a hands-on way, what cause is being furthered.
Don’t be afraid of what the prospective supporter may not like or may not want to do. This is the time to be open and honest (which also works towards trust, another aspect of being EPIC and of effective marketing). If the potential supporter does not like what your organization is doing, you don’t want their support! This is the hardest thing for a not-for-profit to do: say “no” to resources that are not aligned with their mission, heritage, and vision of the future. By participating in what the NPO does, a supporter will like the company and, ultimately, their cause, more and more and more which turns into loyalty and – a key aspect of loyalty – trust.
Read: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Sweet, L. (2007). The Gospel according to Starbucks: Living with a grande passion. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBook Press.
The EPIC acrostic is adapted from Leonard Sweet’s “The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion”, 2007.
40 Days of Water
February 17, 2010
NPOdev is making a change over the next #40Days.
In short, it’s a way to give clean water to Africa by making water your only beverage for the next #40Days
Here are some facts:What if you ONLY drank water for the next 40 days and gave all other drink money to Africa??
Let’s say you spend an average of $4/day on beverages other than water (whether at home or at work), $4 x 40 days = $160 or 321, 920 Ugandan Shillings.
Don’t just give something up; put something better in its place.
Imagine the difference YOU can make! (You can also click the image below.)
An EPIC Solution for Economic Hardship in NPOs Part 2 (Brand)
February 6, 2010
When focusing on brand, a company is trying to build its image within the community (area of influence) it serves, and from whence its supporters reside (figuratively, not necessarily literally/physically). In a for-profit business this is commonly recognized as the target market and its corresponding segment. Realizing then that branding has a lot to do with how the organization is perceived, or its image, one might conclude that an NPO must focus on marketing. However, a requirement of traditional marketing is to spend large sums of money on numerous vehicles such as expensive advertising campaigns. To view image building as marketing then would be counterintuitive for a not-for-profit company as it is struggling to acquire money for operational expenses, let alone an extensive marketing campaign.
What is required, then, is to view marketing in an entirely different light. Effective marketing is not sales. When a business tries to promote a product directly, it often fails to get the individual (or a collection of individuals, and therefore other organizations) to know, like, and trust the company. The business fails to educate the customer as to why the customer has a need for their product or service, what the benefits are, and why they can be trusted.
Therefore, and especially in the non-profit arena, marketing must be viewed through lenses that do not consider marketing sales, but rather as the educating of stakeholders (constituents, clients, customers, supporters, anyone who has a relationship with the organization) as to why the entity should be supported and why its services, products, or outreach is needed. Effective marketing is getting people to know, like, and trust you (Jantsch, 2008).
The most effective way for an NPO to survive economic turmoil is to have been proactive in these areas, thereby having a reserve to tap into. It’s also a tremendous boon to have a die-hard fan base that will support the company, even to the supporter’s detriment. This of course is the best-case scenario, and provides a goal for non-profits to work towards. Most often, though, small, young, or newly-started non-profits don’t have these sustainability reserves as a resource, and are back to facing the plight of how to survive this time of hardship.
The key to surviving is to focus on time and brand. Get people to know, like, and trust you. But how? EPIC-ally!
Read: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Get the Full Article
References
Jantsch, John (2008). Duct tape marketing: The world’s most practical small business marketing guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.